[Comparison of ventilation-/perfusion scintigraphy with spiral CT in acute lung embolism].
OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of the validity of spiral-CT compared with ventilation/perfusion (v/p) scintigraphy, the standard diagnostic tool in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism.


METHODS
Prospective study of 70 patients with symptoms of acute pulmonary embolism: examination with both methods within 4 hours.


RESULTS
In 46 patients pulmonary embolism could be unequivocally excluded by both methods. Patients with high-probability-Tc-scans predominantly had central emboli on CT. In cases with medium or low probability-Tc-scans thrombi were usually visible in segmental arteries. In one patient with a non-suspicious scintigram spiral-CT was able to detect emboli in multiple segmental arteries.


CONCLUSIONS
Spiral-CT is a fast, safe and almost always available method for detection of pulmonary embolism. In our hands it is superior to v/p-scintigraphy. It allows direct detection of a thrombus and has additional advantages in differential diagnosis (e. g. lung carcinoma, infectious infiltration). In patients with clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism spiral-CT should be the primary diagnostic modality.
Neumann
S M
SM
Radiologisches Zentrum, Zentralkrankenhaus St.-Jürgen-Strasse, Bremen.
Freyschmidt
J
J
Holland
B R
BR
Henschel
M
M
Gahnem
N R
NR
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013667:Technetium; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio / Q000502:physiology*
D013667:Technetium
Vergleich der Ventilations-/Perfusions-Szintigraphie mit der Spiral-CT bei akuter Lungenembolie.